New products attempt to make Delta more competitive on the world’s stage.
It seems like every airline is rolling out some kind of new business-class offering, from Qatar with their Qsuites, first unveiled at the Paris Air Show last week, to the United Polaris Class, which has been in the industry eye a little longer. Delta is no exception, as their Delta One suites went on sale last week, and eager travelers are booking their trips, so they can see for themselves if the hype is really true.
The Delta One suite product was announced almost an entire year ago, as the first all-suite business class in the world, and it’s slated to appear on Delta’s very first Airbus A350.
The Delta One suite is admittedly pretty nice, with 32 outfitted on each A350. Flyers experience a full flat-bed seat with direct aisle access, a full-height door, privacy dividers for center suites, in-suite lighting, expanded storage, one of the largest entertainment monitors available on a U.S. carrier and an overall sleek and stylish design that’s almost reminiscent of the more upscale Asian and Middle Eastern carriers (let’s face it, folks — they have U.S. carriers beat as far as in-flight luxury goes).
The first flight available with the Delta One suite takes off Oct. 30, headed from Detroit to Narita. In the future, Delta plans to roll out the suite little by little on its Boeing 777s.
Source: Delta Air Lines
Keep in mind, even if your interest isn’t piqued by the Delta One suite, you may have a separate reason to fly Delta to Narita in the fall. It’s because Delta is the first U.S. airline to take delivery of the A350, and you’ll see it on many of their Asian routes. So, if you want to jump on the A350 bandwagon and still fly an American carrier, this is one of your first chances.
This is just one part of how Delta’s been making some pretty big changes recently to enhance the customer experience. They’ve also added a premium economy class called Delta Premium Select that gives travelers more space, posh amenity kits, pre-departure beverages and those huge entertainment screens. Fare for this new class also went on sale last week, and also appears first on that Airbus A350 flight to Narita. Additionally, it’s available on select flights from Detroit to Incheon after Nov. 16, and from Detroit to Beijing after Jan. 17.
Source: Airbus
That was only the tip of the iceberg for Delta’s announcements this month, though. They’ve also partnered up with in-demand chefs Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo to offer their cuisine in-flight on service between LAX and JFK or DCA, and they just signed a trans-Pacific joint venture agreement with Korean Air, to expand their networks and services.
A U.S. RC-135U flying in international airspace over the Baltic Sea was intercepted by a Russian SU-27 June 19, 2017. Photo: USAF/European Command
The U.S. military recently released a series of images showing an armed Russian SU-27 fighter jet intercepting a U.S. RC-135U reconnaissance plane in international airspace over the Baltic Sea on June 19, 2017.
“Building a Bomber” was produced by the Office for Emergency Management during 1941. Featuring Martin’s early production of their B-26 Marauder medium bomber, the film shows the manufacturing processes and some very revealing looks at methods used to build military aircraft at the time. Martin began producing B-26s during February 1941. By the time production of the Marauder shut down in March 1945, 5,288 of them had been built. At that point, the Douglas A-26 Invader took over the B-26 designation. We’ll be doing in-depth stories about both the B-26 and A-26 in the future, but this film is a fascinating look at aircraft production in general and the B-26 in particular.
The B-26 earned a reputation for being a “hot ship” and even a “widowmaker” that had as much to do with its advanced low-drag design and higher performance than any perceived problems with the aircraft itself. Higher approach speeds were required and single engine operation was problematic. Some issues, such as nose gear collapses and issues with propeller pitch mechanisms, were resolved before widespread service of the Marauder. The low wing area and attendant high wing loading in early production aircraft were somewhat resolved in models after the B-26B-10, which received both a 6 foot longer wingspan and uprated engines but additional weight in armor and defensive weaponry. Larger vertical and horizontal stabilizers were also added to the B-10 and later models.
Official US Air Force Photograph
Reputations aside, Marauders went on to perform exceptionally in the European Theatre with the Eighth Air Force and later the Ninth Air Force, and in the Mediterranean Theatre with the Twelfth Air Force. But it was in the Pacific Theatre where the B-26 saw its first combat of the war. There B-26s launched torpedo attacks against Japanese shipping during the Battle of Midway and participated in other combat missions in the Southwest Pacific. The United States Navy operated B-26s designated as JM-1s and JM-2s. Turkey, France, South Africa, and the United Kingdom also operated B-26s.
The mobile expansion of real time information continues to increase as today’s pilot boards their aircraft with an electronic tablet loaded with the most useful navigation and weather apps — and may include a flight simulation game.
Flight schools and airport terminals world wide rely on the glass screens of their smart technology, including syncing with their digital watch, as the app updates software available through specialized servers.
In our research, over 400 apps exist on both the iTunes and Android stores offering pilots, airport personnel, or an aviation journalist the ability to file flight plans, view cloud tops and winds aloft information, and to view airport closures in an instant.
Here are 10 great apps that we love:
Ten: Instagram Yes, the social media site has taken off and is the top place to receive updates and media from aviation’s top military and civilian pilots or airshow teams. 2017 has seen a strong increase in the way military, commercial, and private pilots have put their in-flight short videos, images, and while including updated information.
Sites such as the Navy’s Blue Angels, Air Force Thunderbirds, commercial airlines, and the aerobatic pilots, such as GEICO Skytypers, allow avgeeks the ability to stay connected in real time. Aviation news feeds such as Military_Flight, AVGeekery, or AirshowNewsbriefs are a few of the Instagram accounts which distribute real time news updates, and allow the public to communicate on current topics.
Nine: My Radar Weather Radar is likely the most used live radar we’ve seen by pilots and airport personnel across the United States, Europe, and Japan. My Radar displays animated weather, and its pinch and swipe display allows app owners the ability to zoom in on a two mile stretch of weather.
The app uses your phone’s gyros and GPS to accurately pinpoint your location first with a blue dot. My Radar is free, however My Radar Pro is a small fee, and are available on both iTunes and Android devices.
Eight: Periscope Want to watch Live video from the flight line of your favorite airshow or airport? This free app offers the user the ability to tune in to live events in the air or on the ground based on your search preference. Both civilian and military sides of aviation are “scoping” the airfields providing live video feeds.
“Periscope gives us the ability to share activities that people may not otherwise see,” explained Skytypers and airshow spokesperson Brenda Little. “We have shared what an air show looks like from the announcer’s stand and quick interviews with the maintenance team or pilots prior to takeoff.”
Periscope can sync with your Twitter account to promote your broadcast at the same time you go Live.
Seven: Flight Pilot Simulator 3D has been rated the top flight sim app for Android and iTunes. Colorful HD graphics highlight the feel of this game as you use easy to learn controls to maneuver your aircraft from take-off to landing. The app takes one to flight school as you learn the ease of the on screen controls, such as the throttle and brakes — including what angle to hold the device. Past players call it addictive. We call it a fun way to pass an hour at the terminal.
Free to install, there are in game fees based on your performance level.
Six: Flight Aware is likely the best application to keep an eye on your upcoming commercial flight. Simply input your airline name and flight number at the top of the screen, and FA will update with any changes to the flight time and gate number. Click on the brief flight details to open up a full page for in flight data and route map synced via GPS.
“Whether I’m flying my Beech Debonair at home or my A300 at work, I think my favorite app of the 8 or so that I use regularly is FlightAware,” said John Bowen, A300 Captain and active General Aviation instructor. “It allows me to preview my route with my expected ATC clearance, my friends and family can track my flights, and I can view my flight performance after I land.”
Five: Cloud Ahoy is the pilot in training’s debrief logbook. This app excels as it tracks your flight profile from takeoff through landing. For many pilots, the question of how nominal their approach and landing was is answered as the app offers an updated 3D model of the glide slope. Speed calculations and altitude is given with time stamps in GMT and local.
Today’s top aerobatic pilots love this app as they use Cloud Ahoy to review their airshow performance track, and learn just how they did that afternoon. This app is only available in iTunes.
Four: LiveATC is the only online application offering the most air traffic control feeds across America and the globe. Live audio (delayed forty seconds due to Internet routing) from the headset of pilots and controllers, LiveATC can help future pilots learn the right and wrong ways to deliver quick departure information to the tower. The average aviation geek interested in tuning in need not know the airport code, just the country; state; city.
LiveATC will draw you in with the ability to listen-in to most air shows and the conversation between the air boss and the aerobatic aircraft pilot.
This app even comes with a sleep timer to allow LiveATC to close after 60 minutes. One note, from time to time, a popular tower feed may be off line. Available on both iTunes and Android.
Three: Flight Radar 24 is one of the most popular air traffic radars on the planet. This app provides aircraft flight information with pinpoint accuracy across the globe. Tap on any aircraft to learn its flight details, or tap on an airport icon for arrival and departure boards, delays, and flight status plus weather conditions.
Flight Radar 24 is available free on both Android and iTunes. There are a few in app purchases, however the majority of the app is free.
Two: ForeFlight 9. It’s pricey for the individual but again, you get what you pay for, and this app is tops. ForeFlight takes flight planning to a new level. And, this app is not just targeted to civilian and commercial pilots. ForeFlight’s Military Flight Bag offers military pilots secured access to DoD flight publications.
“We use ForeFlight daily for just about everything,” noted pilot Steve Kapur of the GEICO Skytypers Airshow Team. “We get information about the local area, routing, and weather – both current and forecast. I use it daily to prepare information for our morning briefing and others use it to develop our cross country plans.”
ForeFlight is only available in the iTunes app store.
One: Garmin Pilot is the top GPS app for the open skies. File your flight plan, navigate around storms, and keep an accurate log book with this app. Pilots can view real time VFR/IFR charts and read new METARs, TAFs, Winds Aloft, PIREPs, AIRMETs, SIGMETs, Area Forecasts, and NOTAM’s.
According to Garmin Pilot officials, “Turn your iPad or iPhone into the ideal cockpit companion. Garmin Pilot puts full-featured navigation — including our decades of experience with rich, interactive mapping, 3D Vision, aviation weather, global flight plan filing, electronic flight bag capabilities, optional traffic/weather, pilot logbook and more — right at your fingertips.”
A drop down icon at top left will allow pilots many options to navigate in flight. GPS-based course direction and altitude readings along with the real time map motion as the flight progresses is a top highlight of the Garmin app. Select Airport Info for local traffic patterns and elevation as you prepare for landing.
A standard annual subscription cost is $75.00, while a premium subscription is $150.
Many other apps we use probably should have made our Top Ten. Let us know what favorite aviation apps you use and cannot live without. Use the chat thread below to exchange thoughts with fellow avgeeks and pilots.
The Cirrus SF50 Vision Jet was on display at the Paris Air Show, but any avgeek knows, this is not just any airplane. At a cost of $2 million, it is both the smallest and most affordable private jet in the entire world. Additionally, it’s the only private jet built completely from carbon fiber, the only jet with a whole-plane emergency parachute and the only single-engine private jet available (making it even more affordable to operate).
This wasn’t the first time European aviation enthusiasts got a glance at the gorgeous little aircraft, though. The SF50 also appeared in May at the European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition. Overall, the aircraft has been a long time coming, with more than a decade of development behind it. It just recently began deliveries (in December, among much fanfare), to a few of the hundreds of customers lined up.
Well, there’s space for five to seven adults, along with their luggage, and the aircraft is capable of flying up to 1,150 miles at an altitude of 28,000 feet, at a speed of 345 miles per hour. In other words, you can fly many domestic routes with ease, and in the same timeframe you’d experience with a major airline.
It’s also built with pilot owners in mind: “This is the first turbine airplane that’s aimed at the owner-flown market. It is truly by design a personal transportation machine,” said Cirrus chief engineer, Dave Rathbun. Along with this vision, there are lots of perks set up for the individual doing the actual flying, including a roomy cockpit that looks more like the front seat of a luxury car than anything else. Huge windows are present throughout the plane, making it feel even more spacious.
Will the aircraft “change the industry—change how we think about travel,” as co-founder and CEO of Cirrus Dale Klapmeier boasted last year? It’s hard to say. Definitely affordable for the affluent frequent flyer, traveler and private pilots alike, it certainly broadens the market for private aircraft in a way that’s never been done before.
Launch of BulgariaSat-1 on the second reused SpaceX Falcon-9 rocket June 23, 2017. Photo: SpaceX
Yesterday, SpaceX launched their 8th mission of the year to deliver Bulgaria’s first national communications satellite to orbit, and in doing so tied their own personal record for number of launches flown in a single year – in just the first 6 months of 2017.
But the successful launch, and offshore landing on an autonomous drone ship that followed minutes later, also marked the second flight for a previously-flown Falcon 9 rocket, as well as the first time a rocket has launched missions from both sides of the United States; Kennedy Space Center in Florida and Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
XXI Bomber Command B-29 Missions Dismantled Japan From 1500 Miles Away.
The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) produced the color film “The Last Bomb” using footage shot by special personnel of their Motion Picture Unit and Combat Camera Units. The film was produced to publicize the USAAF XXI Bomber Command Boeing B-29 Superfortress missions against the empire of Japan during the last year of World War II in the Pacific. Flying missions from Tinian, Saipan, and Guam in the Marianas Islands beginning in November of 1944, the B-29s were tasked with flying missions that covered 3,000 miles and lasted upwards of 14 hours. Enjoy the film as uploaded to YouTube by PeriscopeFilm II
Starring XXI Bomber Command at the Apex of Their War
Of course the 58th, 73rd, 313th, 314th, and 315th Bombardment Wings of XXI Bomber Command did the heavy lifting. Equally remarkable is the fact that North American P-51D Mustangs of the VII Fighter Command, flying from hard-fought Iwo Jima, flew 51 of the longest routine escort missions of the war to Japan alongside the Superforts. Even though Iwo was roughly half way as far from Japan as the Marianas, 1,500 miles is a long way to go in a single-engine fighter. Iwo was home to hundreds of Mustangs and also handled hundreds of emergency landings by shot-up B-29s unable to make it all the way back to the Marianas.
Official Air Force Photograph
Telling the Entire Story
The film of course features the B-29s of XXI Bomber Command and the P-51s of VII Fighter Command. Lots of gun camera footage, some of which was spliced in from other periods of the war, is included as are excellent shots of the preparation, planning, and support by the “ground pounders” at the bases from which these mission were flown. The film focuses on the missions and the men through to the end of hostilities with Japan but ends with mention of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Enjoy this rare look at the Air Force’s final air assault on Japan and what it took to make it happen.
Edwards AFB was the gatekeeper for jets joining the fleet.
The United States Air Force (USAF) Air Research and Development Command produced the color film “The Air Force Flight Test Center- Edwards Air Force Base” during the mid-1950s and released the film in 1956. Shot at Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) on Rogers Dry Lake and featuring just about every Air Force aircraft in development or test at the time, the film is like a time capsule and captures everything from the testing and evaluation of developmental aircraft and guided missiles to rocket sled and rocket motor testing. Parachute testing at Naval Air Station (NAS) El Centro is also featured in the film.
Aircraft featured in the film include the Bell X-1A, X-2, and X-3 experimental rocket planes, North American F-86 Sabre and F-100 Super Sabre, McDonnell F-101 Voodoo, Convair F-102, YF-102A, and TF-102A Delta Dagger, Lockheed F-104A Starfighter, Vought XF8U-1 Crusader, Douglas B-66B Destroyer, Republic EF-84G Thunderjet Zero-Length Launching and Mat Landing (ZELMAL) and jettisonable main landing gear wheel testing, and a XF-84H Thunderscreech turboprop-powered supersonic fighter prototype. Boeing B-29 and B-50 Superfortress and B-52 Stratofortress carrier aircraft and the Bell GAM-63 Rascal air-to-surface missile along with its Boeing B-47 Stratojet carrier aircraft are also featured.
Official NASA Photograph
Details of the mid-1950s renovation and modernization of the base facilities, control tower, and expanded and improved runways are discussed. Several of the accidents that occurred at Edwards during the shooting of the film are included as well as truly rare footage of Boeing YC-97J Stratofreighter, Douglas YC-124B Globemaster II, and Lockheed YC-121F Super Constellation turboprop-powered testbeds. Data captured during the testing of these three experimental transports was used in the design of the Lockheed YC-130 Hercules, which is also shown in the film. Look closely and you’ll even see North American B-25 Mitchells too. The narration of the film is a bit dry, like the desert around Edwards itself, but all in all the film is a feast for the eyes of any fan of the heady days of flight testing during the 1950s.
DAYTON, Ohio — A single Air Force Thunderbirds jet on approach to Dayton International Airport flipped over upon landing and crashed upside down as rain and wind gusts swept over the airfield on Friday.
The pilot and backseat crew member were listed in good condition moments following the crash. However, the Thunderbirds have elected to cancel Saturday’s 3:10 p.m. EDT performance, and will decide later regarding Sunday’s show.
The pilot of the jet is Capt. Erik Gonsalves, who serves as the team’s airshow narrator and advance pilot. Capt. Gonsalves was giving an informal familiarization flight to TSgt. Kenneth Cordova, a tactical aircraft maintainer. This is the first season with the Thunderbirds for both.
The two were landing aboard an F-16D Fighting Falcon aircraft in rain driven, overcast conditions with low visibility. Following the mishap, it took firefighters and airport personnel an hour to release the trapped crew members who sat upside down. As first responders arrived, they stated that one provided an immediate thumbs up signal.
The Thunderbirds issued a formal statement late Friday, “The United States Air Force Thunderbirds were conducting a single-ship familiarization flight on Friday June 23, 2017,” said Capt. Sara Harper, Thunderbird 12 and public affairs officer. “Upon landing there was a mishap at the Dayton International Airport with an F-16D Fighting Falcon at approximately 12:20 p.m. (EDT).”
“Our first priority is taking care of our Thunderbird teammates and ensuring future safety” said Thunderbirds commander Lt. Col. Jason Heard. “Both teammates were extremely brave during the extraction and we’d like to thank Wright-Patterson Crash and Recovery, Dayton International Fire Rescue, local police, medical personnel and team members on scene for their incredible recovery efforts.”
America’s Ambassadors in Blue will make a formal announcement on Saturday if they will perform on Sunday. As narrator, Capt. Gonsalves is the only announcer trained to discuss this season’s maneuvers by the Thunderbirds. He announces accurate details of each upcoming manuever in a memorized pattern during the 2017 airshow season.
Friday’s crash was the Thunderbirds second in the past 55 weeks. Last June, Thunderbird 6 jet was involved in a ditching maneuver near Colorado Springs. In that incident, the pilot, Major Alex Turner ejected safely and was unhurt. Maj. Turner still flies with the team as Thunderbird 5 lead solo.
UPDATE: Sunday’s performance is cancelled as well. No word on when the Thunderbirds will perform next.
(Charles Atkeison reports on aerospace and technology. Follow his updates via social media @Military_Flight.)
The Airbus A380 is easily known as the largest passenger aircraft in existence, entering commercial service in 2007. A big deal when it first came on the market, and even now, it can carry the most people on a regular basis, and continues to do so around the world. However, a trend’s popped up that can’t be ignored (and shouldn’t be ignored, if the major aircraft manufacturers know what’s good for them): in the airline industry, bigger isn’t always better. For that reason, the A380’s successor, the A380plus, may be doomed to failure. Here’s why:
Massive jets were created to circle the globe, whisking passengers away to far-off destinations, carrying 400 or 500 individuals at once. But at the end of the day, that’s just not what the greater public wants or needs. They’d prefer a convenient flight that gets them where they need to go, when they need to get there, without traversing a big hub. It’s why the A330 and 787s of the world are flying direct between smaller cities, and are continuing to do so. Not to mention, Boeing itself has acknowledged the downward trend in demand for super-sized jets; at the Paris Air Show, vice president of marketing Randy Tinseth expressed that, for lack of better words, the 747-8i and the A380 markets are dead.
2. The Fixed-Cost Problem Still Exists
Bigger planes are more expensive to fly. It’s simple fact. The A380plus may offer aerodynamic improvements to help out with some of the efficiency gap, but, fundamentally, four engines are more expensive to operate and maintain than two. They may need to take a page from Boeing’s book, and realize that efficiency is where it’s at in today’s market. Just look at the ultra-efficient 777X coming online in the next few years, and you’ll see where industry interest is headed.
3. The Plus doesn’t add up to more comfort
The interior of a commercial airplane should be all about the passenger — their comfort, accessibility and, again, convenience. The A380 was a very comfortable jet a 10 across seating. Unfortunately, when you’re jammed 11 into a row in economy on an A380, you begin to feel like you are in a sardine can. That’s the fallacy behind the “plus”. It’s squeezing more seats into a jet at the expense of comfort.
We’re guessing that there will be very few (if any) orders ever materialize for the A380 Plus.
Commercial aviation enthusiasts have been presented with a one-on-one battle for years — Boeing vs. Airbus. No matter which you prefer, whether it be for design, interior or even in-flight noise, there is one clear winner at the Paris Air Show.
Beyond Boeing’s reveal of the 737 MAX 10, they racked up a huge number of new orders and commitments, to the tune of 571. Airbus? A mere 336. All those orders for Boeing added up to a nice $74.8 billion. The largest order was placed by an unidentified major airline customer, for 125 of the 737 MAX 8 model. United followed close behind with 104 new orders. It seems that nearly every airline you know — and even some you don’t (Okay Airways, anyone?) — got in the game, placing an order for at least one version of the 737 MAX, with a much smaller number of Dreamliner orders.
The Airbus orders tallied up to about $39 billion. However, one aircraft valuation firm says that industry discounts could have slashed both manufacturer’s profits in half, with the real value (beyond the list prices), being somewhere around $35 billion for Boeing, and $17 billion for Airbus. Of course, as always, take note that even what the manufacturer may tout as a “firm agreement” may not come to fruition. Airlines back out of announced agreements regularly.
The loss of the unofficial race was just a sad fact on top of another for Airbus, as COO John Leahy, often credited with getting Airbus to where it is today, announced his 2017 retirement. He also had a few things to say about Boeing, noting, he “had expected they would have had a bigger launch on the 737 MAX 10, not quite as many conversions, more incremental orders.” He also mentions that the MAX 10 will probably not be a serious competitor to the A321.
Both manufacturers plan to up the ante to meet orders. Airbus is looking to produce 30 more planes this year than in 2016, and Boeing said it’d like to start producing two more 787s per month by 2020.
Boeing did admit that it had no new orders for its 777X.
The predicament isn’t unusual at the Air Show, though. Bombardier had no orders for its CSeries and Mitsubishi fared the same with its MRJ regional jet.
UPDATE: 6:58PM CT: A press conference was held this afternoon regarding the crash. Both occupants of the two-ship F-16D are in good condition. See recap of today’s events here.
UPDATE 12:34PM CT: Here is live footage of the incident provided by WHIO.
12:20PM CT
The Dayton Daily News is reporting that a Thunderbirds aircraft ‘crashed’ today at Dayton International Airport. However, if you read their latest reporting, it sounds as if the jet landed and then was flipped over by a gust of wind. There is no word yet on injuries. Here is their latest tweet.
While the winds are reported to be light, the field has been reporting heavy rain with low visibility. A significant cold front has converged with moisture from the remnants of Tropical Storm Cindy to produce heavy rain, thunderstorms, and wind in the region.
2.) The Thunderbirds practice for the Dayton Airshow was called off today due to weather but the two-seater F-16D did take off for a media flight. There were two occupants in the F-16–one pilot and one media guest.
Peter Thiel, PayPal founder and tech evangelist, noted several years ago that “We wanted flying cars, but instead got 140 characters.” He was, of course, talking about Twitter, but his larger point was that the technological advancements that seemed to be inevitable have—when they’ve even shown up— been underwhelming.
The pilotless airliner, like the driverless car, is one of those innovations that always seems to be around the next corner, but like a mirage in the desert, keeps receding into the distance. And it certainly isn’t for lack of effort. DARPA has recently been testing a robot which occupies the space where a copilot sits on an airliner.
A recent headline proclaimed that this robot was able to fly (and land!) a 737. So that’s that right? We can finally get on with the business of halving (or eliminating) our pilot force, solving the pilot shortage, and saving a ton of money to boot.
Well, I wouldn’t be so quick to quit flight school and dust off that medical school application. We are still quite a ways away from single or no pilot airliners for a number of reasons. But first, I’d like to review where we’ve come from when it comes to cockpit automation and what we’ll ultimately be asking our machines to do.
There was a time not too far removed when it took five or more crew members—in addition to flight attendants—to operate an airliner. Besides the two pilots up front, there were navigators to navigate, flight engineers to keep the engines running, and a radio operator to communicate. Over the years, these positions have been eliminated through the use of technology and automation.
The last airplane Boeing manufactured that had an engineer’s panel in the cockpit was the 747-300 model, which ceased production in 1990. Navigators and radio operators were eliminated decades earlier, replaced by inertial navigation systems and solid state radios.
Job Functions Were Consolidated, not Eliminated
Wikipedia: Felix Stember
I think it important to note that none of the functions that those earlier crew members accomplished were actually eliminated, but rather consolidated into the job of pilot. Airplanes still needed to be navigated, engines needed to be started, monitored and kept running through fuel management, and radios still needed to be tuned and monitored.
Automation has allowed pilots to assume all those duties while still flying the airplane. And as you’ve no doubt read somewhere on the internet, pilots only actually “fly” their airliners for just a few minutes per flight during takeoff and landing. For the most part this is true. I personally like to hand fly the jet more than most, but that is because I enjoy it. There is certainly no need to do so. For many, it is gear up, flaps up, autopilot on.
The dirty truth is the autopilot can fly better for longer than any human can. Sure, some pilots can fly a better final than “George” (the autopilot), but George doesn’t get tired or rusty. This is a good thing, because it is that autopilot which frees up the two pilots to deal with things like a low oil pressure light during a diversion in bad weather.
Why Have Pilots at All?
Technology has eliminated all those other jobs on the airplane, and we have autopilots that routinely handle almost all the flying already, so what’s the problem? Just make a machine that can handle the other three minutes of flying and we’re done here.
This gets down to the fundamental reason pilots are really on the airplane, and that is decision making.The reason there are two pilots aboard? Collaboration and validation of the decision making process. Plus having two people up front has the added advantage that they help keep each other awake. (Laugh, but it will need to be addressed in a single pilot airliner.)
So no problemo, simply write some software that can handle the decisions that pilots are expected to make. This gets down to the question of things that machines do well versus the things that humans do well. They each have their strengths and weaknesses.
Pattern Recognition and Heuristics
Computers are really good at tedious detail work such as, say, doing a spell check or a word find and replace on a blog post. What they’re not so good at is deciding if you’ve buried the lede, or if your prose is somewhat leaden. That takes judgement, which is more difficult to code.
Have you ever wondered why all the fruits and vegetables in the supermarket have those little stickers on them used by the scanner? Why can’t the scanner just look at a tomato and recognize it? The reason is that when you program the computer to recognize something that is “red” and “round” it will confuse tomatoes with apples (or red bell peppers). While humans will rarely mistake an apple for a tomato, getting a machine to routinely recognize the difference is much more difficult, (and expensive) hence the stickers.
In short, humans are much better than machines at pattern recognition and heuristics, which is a fancy word for an educated guess or hunch. Humans are better decision makers in ambiguous situations. And many situations on an airliner can be ambiguous.
Canned Decision Making or AI
What is software other than prepackaged expertise and decisions? Automation is threatening whole sectors of the economy such as accounting because expertise and best practices can be distilled into code and sold to people who couldn’t otherwise afford to hire a tireless expert. Accounting software, though, is unlikely to be presented a scenario which hasn’t been preprogrammed. If it does come across such a situation, it would likely come to a halt state to await human intervention.
The software in a pilotless airplane would need to be either pre programmed with every possible scenario likely to ever be encountered, or to employ some sort of artificial intelligence. Artificial intelligence (AI) is the ability of a machine to be able to process information which it hasn’t specifically been programmed to handle, i.e. to learn. In short, it is canned judgement.
Advances in AI are being made all the time but it does have a way to go. Imagine a piece of software which would have the judgement to tell the difference between a need to do a gate return for a woman who’d left her purse in the gate area versus one whose husband had been seriously injured (or one of several million other scenarios). I can’t imagine that either.
So it seems apparent to me that we’re going to need humans available to make decisions on or about airlines for the foreseeable future. The question arises as to how many humans are required, and if they should they actually be on the airplane.
Pilot/Dispatcher/Controller
Our current commercial airline transportation system consists of at least four people watching over your flight at any one time. Two or more pilots are up front, a dispatcher has planned your flight and keeps watch over things like destination weather and other operational concerns, while air traffic controllers keep your airplane away from all the other airplanes flying around.
All of these jobs are supposedly ripe for replacement through automation. Back in my military days the crew would come in the day before a scheduled flight and spend the entire day flight planning. Dispatchers today plan and oversee many dozens of flights per shift using sophisticated software tools. They become extremely busy, though, when many airplanes under their control have to divert in the case of bad weather in one location.
In the scenario where there is one pilot aboard coupled with say, a “copilot” assistant on the ground connected through datalink, a decision would need to be made as to how many airborne planes would be assigned to each assistant. If the ratio is one to one, there would be little cost savings as assistants would likely make about as much as dispatchers and copilots currently do. Perhaps two to one or four to one. An optimal number will need to be found. This would open a new cost versus safety frontier that does not now exist.
These assistants would be only available for voice or text consultation given the current state of deployed technology. Robust telecommunications networks allowing for remote control of airliners along with control systems aboard airliners to allow such control, while technically feasible, currently do not exist and would require a sizeable investment in hardware and infrastructure to implement. This is certainly doable, but there is little evidence of any movement towards this future other than pure research.
Similar automation and technology advancements are impacting the job of the air traffic controller as well. The FAA has proposed using advanced data tools to have a flight fully cleared and deconflicted from all other airborne traffic before it has even taken off. Controllers would only be available to intervene in the case of rapidly changing weather or other unpredictable contingencies such as aircraft emergencies.
The trend is unmistakable. Fewer humans will, over time, be involved in watching over your flight, and this may work out just fine. The advantages of automation are manifest: lower costs and higher productivity being two of the greatest. A third metric, however, safety, may be the fly in the ointment.
Is It Safe?
Wikipedia
2016 was a record year in US commercial aviation as there were no fatalities on any US commercial airline anywhere in the world. It is also the seventh straight year that this feat has been attained. In 2015 that worked out to 7.6 billion miles flown with a (non-fatal) accident rate of 0.155 per 100,000 flight hours. There are about 24,000 commercial flights per day in the US. Flying is extremely safe and this is not by accident.
The current state of safety in the airline industry has been achieved over the years through dogged research into human factors, technical standards, preventative maintenance, training, and accident investigations. Current aviation policies and procedures for operators, controllers, and maintainers have years of development and history behind them.
One of the best reasons to cheer the introduction of driverless cars is the promise of a reduction in the 35,000 annual US auto accident deaths. The promise of the pilotless airliner is mostly economic. Our commercial aviation system is already nearly as safe as can reasonably be accomplished short of parking airplanes.
The burden of proof from a safety point of view will be upon those wishing to introduce large changes into this system for marginal economic gains. Measured in defects per operations accomplished, matching the current safety record will be a challenge. Not impossible, but the bar is pretty high.
I personally find myself having to intervene multiple times a day to correct “mistakes” made by our current state of the art automation. It is not nearly as automatic as advertised. This record of course must improve before the system can be fully autonomous.
The current pilot shortage, one of the justifications for increasing automation, is a mostly self inflicted injury by the US aviation industry compounded by Congress. It will eventually work itself out through rising wages and ab initio training programs for prospective pilots.
In Conclusion
I have every confidence that the goal of pilotless airliners will eventually be achieved given enough time and money, but I also believe that it will not be nearly as cheap or easy as some acolytes of pilotless airplanes believe. If you’ll notice, I haven’t even touched on the acceptance of this idea by the flying public. I leave that for you, dear reader, to discuss in the comments. In any event, I’ll be retired long before then.
Editors note: An earlier version of this story stated that the last Boeing plane with a navigator was a 727. It was actually a Boeing 747-300.
Father and Son share special moment as they pilot the mighty Lockheed L-1011 to Europe in a classic video
Aviation Media, Inc., produced a “Wonderful World of Flying’ video and this segment has a “take your son to work” story. TWA pilot Barry Schiff is the pilot and his son Brian is the flight engineer; it’s the first time they’ve flown together as professional pilots for the airline.
This was a TWA flight from JFK to Berlin with a stop in Brussels. TWA, at one time owned by eccentric millionaire Howard Hughes, was one of the major commercial airlines before it went out of business in 2001.
The aircraft featured is the L-1011, manufactured by Lockheed. The wide-body plane was developed as an alternative for Boeing’s 747 and the L-1011 closely resembled the DC-10 developed by McDonnell Douglas. The L-1011 went into service in 1972 and was phased out by most commercial airlines by the mid-1990s.
ENJJPT Is One of the Most Successful Joint Training Programs Ever
The Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training Program (ENJJPT) is a multi-national training program that trains combat pilots for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) air forces. The program consists of a 55 week long three-phased curriculum.
Official US Air Force Photograph
Producing Pilots for Everything With Wings
An average of 200 pilots graduate from the program each year, earning their wings and going on to fly everything from air superiority fighters to transports to tankers and helicopters for the air forces of their respective countries. In addition to the Undergraduate Pilot Training (UPT), there are three other distinct training programs: Pilot Instructor Training (PIT), which produces instructor pilots, Introduction to Fighter Fundamentals (IFF), and IFF Upgrade Instructor Pilot Training.
Official US Air Force Photograph
Found on the Flightline
More than 1,300 military, civilian, and contractor personnel support the ENJJPT Program. The students fly Beechraft T-6A Texan II primary trainers, Cessna T-1A Jayhawk multi-engine trainers, and Northrop T-38C and AT-38C Talon advanced jet trainers. ENJJPT recently retired the last of their Cessna T-37 Tweet primary jet trainers. Other training aircraft are utilized for more specialized training as required.
official us air force photograph
Historic Heritage
The United States Air Force (USAF) 80th Flying Training Wing (FTW) traces its history back to World War II, when as the 80th Pursuit Group (Interceptor) they flew Curtiss P-40 Warhawks in the China-Burma-India (CBI) theatre. Deactivated soon after the war ended, the Wing was reformulated in 1972 and has been focused on training American and allied pilots ever since. The ENJJPT Program was established in 1981, with the IFF syllabus being added in 1994.
Futuristic aircraft manufacturer Boom Supersonic made waves at the Paris Air Show this week as it revealed its revolutionary aircraft prototype and design, which could hit the skies for testing as early as next year. The aircraft, which is expected to make supersonic travel affordable (though affordable is a relative term — it’s guessed that seats will be around $5,000 roundtrip), can reach speeds of Mach 2.2, or 1,451 mph.
What may have originally been seen as an overly ambitious goal is getting a fair bit of backing, with 76 aircraft ordered, some of those orders placed by international airlines. One recognizable name placing their bets with the company is Virgin, but not the Virgin you may have flown across the Atlantic or the States. Instead, Virgin Galactic has placed an order for the first 10 planes to roll out (and is also providing manufacturing services and testing support). The price tag? $200 million apiece.
The future of supersonic travel, now very within reach, is exciting to many aircraft and travel enthusiasts alike. After all, many travelers of a younger set are begrudgingly miffed they never had the chance to fly on the Concorde, which was not only expensive to maintain, but also ridiculously expensive to fly.
The interior of the Boom Supersonic passenger aircraft is anything but shabby. Photo: Boom SupersonicHowever, don’t just bet that hordes of people will be climbing onto a Boom Supersonic aircraft any time soon, though test flights of a technology demonstrator are scheduled for 2018. That first model, in fact, isn’t even for passenger travel. It’s about 68 feet long, and holds two individuals. The future passenger version is almost triple that size, at 170 feet, and makes space for six crew members and 55 passengers. This passenger version is expected to offer commercial flights around 2023.
The startup, though, is just getting started. It currently only has 35 employees and is receiving backing from investors to get its dream off the ground. Boyd Group International, an optimistic consulting firm, is projecting the sell of more than 1,000 aircraft, and maybe even 2,000 if the U.S. government relaxes its laws against over-land supersonic flights. While that seems like a ridiculously high sales estimate, the excitement level for a supersonic airliner is admittedly the highest it has been in decades.
Douglas A-4 Skyhawks have been proliferating in civilian use for some time now. One of the companies that is restoring and flying these former military jets is Sky Resources. They have taken several former United States Navy (USN) and United States Marine Corps (USMC) Skyhawks and restored them for various civilian uses including aerial photography, use by government contractors like DRAKEN International and Airborne Tactical Advantage Company (ATAC) as aggressor simulation aircraft, and airshow performers. Many of these Skyhawks are single-seat A-4L variants.
A-4E Skyhawk of VMA-124 pictured at NAS Memphis.
Transforming the A-4C Into the A-4L
A-4Ls are former Naval Air Reserve and Marine Corps Reserve A-4C model Skyhawks that were upgraded during the latter stages of the Vietnam War. Due to attrition of the fleet A-4E and A-4F models it became necessary to swap the standard A-4C Wright J65 turbojet engine with an uprated version of the same core engine, add the dorsal avionics “hump” from the A-4F model Skyhawk, and provide kits to add TA-4F leading edge slats to 100 USN and USMC A-4Cs to bring them up to ersatz A-4F standards.
The first A-4C modification to the A-4L standard was flown on August 21st 1969. A-4Ls were to equip two carrier air wings (CVWs) if force levels or attrition required additional fleet A-4 airframes aboard USN attack carriers (CVAs). A-4Ls were not equipped with the additional hardpoints under their wings for mounting underwing pylons that were present in the A-4E/A-4F models. The A-4Ls were replaced primarily by newer Skyhawk variants as they rotated from fleet to reserve squadrons.
A-4L BuNo 147761 pictured at AMARG before service with Malaysia.
Service With Malaysia and Back to the Desert
Several surplus A-4L aircraft were later reworked to A-4PTM standards for use by Malaysia. When Malaysia finally phased them out of service in 1999 several of those airframes returned to America and were placed in storage at the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG) at Tuscon in Airzona. The Skyhawk featured in the video, Bureau Number (BuNo) 147761, saw service with USMC Attack Squadron 124 (VMA-124) Checkerboards based at Naval Air Station (NAS) Memphis during the early 1970s before she was reworked to A-4PTM standards, sold to Malaysia who flew her until the late 1970s, spent some time at AMARG, and was subsequently acquired and restored to operational status by Sky Resources.
Strike Fighter Wing Atlantic Took a Look Back at 100 Years of Naval Aviation History
During 2011 the United States Navy (USN), United States Marine Corps (USMC), and the United States Coast Guard (USCG) celebrated the centennial of naval aviation (CONA). Throughout the year there were special events held at Naval Air Stations (NASs), Marine Corps Air Stations (MCASs) and Coast Guard Air Stations (CGASs) to honor and respect the past and look forward to the future.
Image via US Navy
Some of the Most Colorful Colors Ever Seen on Navy and Marine Corps Aircraft
One highlight for Avgeeks all over the country was seeing current USN, USMC, and USCG aircraft painted in “heritage” colors- colors that hadn’t been used on Navy, Marine, or Coast Guard aircraft in some cases for more than 70 years. Strike fighters, electronic warfare aircraft, helicopters, maritime patrol aircraft, even trainers and transports wore eye-catching paint schemes and were showcased at air shows and gatherings all around the country.
image via us navy
One other way the CONA was celebrated was by the Strike Fighter (VFA) community. Strike Fighter Wing Atlantic (SFWL or STRKFIGHTWINGLANT) produced their 2011 Strike Fighter Ball video both as a review of the year 2011 in their community but also as a look back at the past 100 years of their existence. Featured in the video are the F/A-18s and crews of VFA-11 Red Rippers, VFA-31 Tomcatters, VFA-15 Valions, VFA-103 Jolly Rogers, VFA-34 Blue Blasters, VFA-211 Checkmates, VFA-106 Gladiators, VFA-32 Swordsmen, VFA-143 Pukin’ Dogs, VFA-83 Rampagers, VFA-213 Black Lions, VFA-81 Sunliners, VFA-37 Ragin’ Bulls, VFA-87 Golden Warriors, VFA-105 Gunslingers, VFA-131 Wildcats, VFA-136 Knighthawks, and VFC-12 Fighting Omars. Like most “cruise” videos these are easy on the eyes and feature pounding soundtracks. Please enjoy these two videos (parts one and two).
Lots of blowing stuff up (it’s part of what strike fighters do) and chasing baskets but also more great air-to-air footage. Also uploaded to YouTube by MegaAerodrome.
Flybys of warbirds and contemporary Navy, Marines Corps, and Coast Guard aircraft (with some Air Force birds thrown in) shot during the Parade of Flight at the 2011 CONA Open House, NAS North Island in San Diego. Uploaded to YouTube by wittmann51.
On the opening day of the Paris Air Show, Qatar Airways stole the limelight with the reveal of the first aircraft fitted with the new business-class Qsuite. The airline’s execs are building up the expectations, with CEO Akbar Al Baker noting, “This product will transform premium travel by bringing a first-class experience to the business-class cabin. With this innovative offering — which features the first-ever double bed in business class — we have set a new standard for the industry…”
It’s true — the Qsuite does offer the first-ever double bed in business class, and the privacy panels are removable, so passengers can create a private room of their own. In addition to two passengers enjoying some alone time, a traveling group of four can do the same, with adjustable panels and entertainment screens allowing four seats to switch things up in a secluded, totally customizable suite. There’s no doubting the Qsuite will be a top player on the luxury travel market.
So what’s it take to experience it for yourself? The very first flight featuring the Qsuite will leave from Doha for London, June 24, on a Boeing 777-300ER, and it’s announced the offering will be rolled out on one new plane each month, eventually adding on service to Paris and New York. The Boeing 777-300ERs will include 42 Qsuites, and later outfitted Airbus A350-1000s will include 46.
This big reveal wasn’t the only exciting news for Qatar Airways while at the Air Show. They also received Airline of the Year at the 2017 Skytrax Awards, winning the coveted title for the fourth year in a row. This award was just one of many for the travel provider; also included were awards for best first-class lounge, best Middle Eastern airline and best business class worldwide.
And it’s no wonder they’re a winner; Qatar Airways is growing at a remarkable pace. On July 4, the airline will begin five-times weekly service to Nice; they just opened a brand-new premium lounge at Charles de Gaulle; and they also just recently extended their service to Dublin, and service to Skopje and Chang Mai is expected to follow.
All of these exciting initiatives are a welcome distraction from some of the political challenges that Qatar has faced. Qatar is in the midst of a diplomatic spat with GCC nations who have cut diplomatic ties and blocked airspace and landing rights in the Middle East region.
Not the whole bomber, mind you, but rather pieces of it. Big pieces, including the wings and the “cargo hold” otherwise known as the bomb bay structure were delivered for assembly by C-5 Galaxy airlift.
But first, a little background on the B-2 is in order. The B-2 Spirit, America’s newest manned bomber, was first rolled out of the hangar at the Northrop facility at Plant 42 in Palmdale, California on November 22, 1988. Echoing the design of Jack Northrop’s YB-49 flying wing, the B-2 features computer flight controls to maintain the stability lacking in the earlier design along with advanced stealth structures and coatings designed to evade enemy radars.
As usual, the procurement program ended up being contentious. Starting with an initial planned buy of 132 aircraft, the number was later reduced to 75 aircraft, and after the collapse of the Soviet Union, further reduced to only 20 aircraft. A test aircraft retained by Northrop was eventually delivered to the Air Force as an operational bomber to bring the total to 21 airframes. Including spare parts and other support, the final cost was nearly a billion dollars per delivered bomber. Adding in development, facilities, and procurement costs resulted in an astounding final cost of over two billion dollars per aircraft.
I am of course reminded of the Calvin Coolidge quote in regards to aircraft acquisition: “Why don’t we buy just one airplane and let the pilots take turns flying it.” He was more prescient than he knew.
The B-2 was assembled by Northrop in Palmdale, Ca, as I mentioned above, but as with any large acquisition program, much of the work was actually farmed out to many subcontractors who manufactured major parts of the aircraft. One of these subcontractors was the Boeing Corporation which had responsibility for the outboard portion of the wing, the aft center fuselage section, landing gears, fuel system and weapons delivery system.
Special Delivery
This work was carried out at the Boeing Military Airplanes Company facility located at Boeing Field in Seattle, Wa. How these large aircraft structures got from Seattle to Palmdale is where your humble narrator comes in. Rather than ship them via rail, which was perhaps the most cost efficient method, they were shipped via C-5 Galaxy cargo aircraft. I don’t know the reason for this, but it was probably due to secrecy and security considerations.
I was assigned to the crew that flew one of these missions back in 1993. It encompassed two days flying from Travis AFB to Boeing Field for pickup, and then on to Palmdale for delivery before returning to Travis. We laid over in Seattle.
One of the enlisted crewmembers on the trip was particularly resourceful and had arranged to get the entire crew a tour of both the Boeing facility and the Northrop assembly plant. This was no easy feat as the program, while not officially “black” (secret), still retained many of the security safeguards and procedures from the “black” days. This meant getting background clearance and customized ID badges. It turned out to be a real treat.
Plastic Model Kit
The inside of the plant appeared as you might expect with lots of large machinery laying about along with many technicians moving here and there. Entrance from any section of the factory to another required a keycard swipe and code entry which for 1993 was new and exotic. Right away though, it was obvious that something different was being built here.
The wings of the B-2 are not made of aluminum, but rather are constructed of resin impregnated graphite fiber. This was a new material used in aircraft construction which was first used by Airbus in the A320. The difference for Boeing was that while Airbus still used aluminum for the main structure of the wings on the A320, the entire structure of the B-2 wing is constructed of composite material.
And even though the technology involved in the manufacture of large composite structures is quite complex, I got the feeling I was watching a huge plastic model airplane being glued together. A huge jig which matched the shape of the wing was used to hold the cloth which was laid down by a computer controlled spool exactly where it was needed. Resin would then be applied, and the entire structure, which probably weighed several tons, was floated on air jets into a giant autoclave, which is a fancy word for oven.
It was there that it would cook until the resin and cloth were bonded. This formed an upper or lower skin panel of the wing which was then attached to composite “stringers” or beams to make up the wing structure.
Surprise Finding at Boeing Military
As we walked around, I couldn’t help but notice a somewhat similar jig to that of the B-2 wing. It turned out to be for the tail of the new 777 project then undergoing. Like the Airbus, Boeing designed the horizontal stabilizer (or tail) of their new airplane using composites as well. Also interesting was that our guide was extremely reticent to talk about it when asked.
If you’ll recall, back in that timeframe Boeing and Airbus were conducting a war of words over government subsidies to their respective industries. Boeing claimed that Airbus was able to undercut their pricing due to subsidies they received from their government owners, while Airbus countered that Boeing had similar advantages due to military contracts and technology transfers from military programs.
It makes sense to put all your large composite manufacturing projects in one location to avoid unnecessary duplication, but no doubt our guide may have been concerned about the optics of such an arrangement or had instructions to not discuss the subject.
Oxygen and Heart Monitors
In another part of the factory we then observed the wing being assembled. After the top and bottom skins had been attached to the stringers, workers would enter the wing structure to install wiring and plumbing. These workers were outfitted with oxygen masks and monitors to ensure that if they became incapacitated, they could be rescued quickly.
Our guide explained that in years gone by, an incapacitated worker might have been extracted by actually cutting into the aluminum wing skin. That wasn’t happening on the billion dollar bomber, hence the monitors.
A Spy!
The next morning we were up early to preflight for our short flight from Seattle to Palmdale. As we got to the airplane, it was still being loaded with the B-2 wings which were tightly wrapped in tarps and attached to a travel framework. One of our contacts mentioned that in the “black” program days, the package would be augmented with extraneous pieces of styrofoam under the tarps to attempt to disguise the actual payload. The loading was also done at night. Neither of those precautions were necessary for our trip.
As we were in bright daylight and in view of the public, I asked for and received permission to take a few photos. In the process of so doing, another guard approached rapidly yelling for me to stop and wanting the film from my camera. The person who originally OK’d my reconnaissance intervened and I was allowed to remain out of custody with my camera film intact. That was just as well because there was no one else available to fly their bomber wings out that day.
Fred Soils the Boeing Ramp
As the loadmasters were busy closing up the nose of the airplane and securing our load, one of our APUs decided to blow a hydraulic line and dump some of the contents of the system onto the Boeing ramp. This got everyone quite excited. The folks at Boeing, being in a civilian organization under the auspices of the EPA and other government busybodies, were very concerned about a “hazardous fluid spill.”
Now I’ve seen my share of hydraulic spills from the C-5 over the years and this one was relatively modest and quickly handled by a few shovelfuls of oil dry onto the offending puddle. In between snide comments by the Boeing personnel questioning the parentage of Lockheed design engineers, the spill was cleaned up and the leak was secured.
Off We Go!
Other than being somewhat bulky, the wings didn’t weigh much so our airplane was rather lightly loaded. The flight from Seattle to Palmdale is only a few hours so the fuel load was light as well. The leg was mine and Fred (the C-5) was just as anxious as we were to depart and quickly leapt into the sky.
Northrop B-2 Assembly plant in Palmdale, Ca (Photo – R Graves)
After an uneventful flight to Palmdale we were ready to unload our precious cargo and enjoy another tour, this time of the Northrop assembly plant. Many of the same security protocols were in place here but we were not permitted down onto the factory floor. Instead we got to observe from a raised catwalk.
This factory did in fact look quite similar to any auto or aircraft assembly plant except that there were B-2 bombers in the line instead of 737s or cars. We did get to speak with one of the B-2 program test pilots whose name escapes me after the decades. This gentleman told us that he had also worked on the C-5 flight test program and relayed interesting factoids such as the B-2 having more wing area than that of the C-5.
One Last Story
That was the end of our B-2 adventure but I wanted to relay one more bit of B-2 lore. On that day back in 1988 when the B-2 was first rolled out of the Northrop plant for public viewing, the Air Force took extensive steps to ensure that the back of the airplane would not be publicly visible. Shielding the engine exhaust from radar was considered a difficult problem to solve and the intent was apparently to conceal the exact design.
An enterprising editor at Aviation Week magazine named Mike Dornheim noted, however, that the Air Force had neglected to close the airspace over Palmdale that day. Dornheim rented a Cessna and along with a photographer got complete photos of the entire B-2 which were featured prominently in the magazine the following week.
But one has to question the need for all the secrecy, as it was later noted that the stylized star design painted on the ramp for that occasion was actually made using silhouettes of the bomber.
